Supporting a conventional heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in an electric vehicle poses problems because power consumed in operating the HVAC system may significantly affect the range and performance of the vehicle. Systems have been proposed which attempt to solve these problems through use a heat pump cycle for vehicle heating and/or employing a compressor driven by a variable speed motor for cooling, all for the purpose of reducing power consumption. It has also been proposed to use power from commercial electrical supply outlets to provide a pre-cooling feature prior to departing for highway usage of the vehicle. While such systems reduce power consumption by the HVAC system, further improvement in energy management are needed in order to insure acceptance of the electric powered vehicle by the public.